Self Esteem And Language Learning

2.2 Self -esteem and foreign language learning

Much less written about the construct of self-esteem and foreign language learning, it is make an importance in education psychology as a critical factor in children’s academic and social development. This chapter is about a ground breaking experience linking self-esteem and language learning. It shows how self-esteem can affect language learning and how it can be used as a tool for improving language acquisition while fulfilling other educational goals such as personal development and social integration.

Many times, as teacher, we feel that our lessons did not succeed in spite of careful planning, good preparation and knowledge of the subject. We know something went wrong, yet we can’t say

He detected that people with low self-esteem are probably feel clumsy, shy, perceptible, and incapable to express themselves with trust. Person with low self-esteem is always anxious about making a mistake, being confused or put themselves to mock. For low self-esteem people the self is a rival and delicate object, sensitive to the gentle touch. For low self-esteem people the self is a tender and delicate object, sensitive to the slightest touch. They have a strong incentive to avoid people or circumstances that reflect negatively on their feelings of self-worth. They are hypersensitive and hyper alert to signs of rejection, inadequacy or rebuff. They tend to adopt a characteristic strategy for dealing with life that is protective and defensive. They are more depressed and unhappy; they have greater levels of anxiety; they show greater impulse to aggression, irritability, and resentment, and suffer from a lack of satisfaction with life in general. They have greater vulnerability to criticism, less self-concept stability, less faith in humanity and greater social anxiety. Virtually every feature of the low self-esteem personality undercuts sponta-neity and creativity.

They tend to look for evidence that they are inadequate whereas high self-esteem people are motivated to discover evidence confirming their strengths. For low self-esteem individuals accepting positive feedback is a more subtle kind of risk than accepting negative feedback. Where lucky performers attribute their successful outcomes to internal characteristics, low self-esteem individuals explain success to external influences. Thus, their general approach to life is avoiding risk and embarrassment. As a result, they are never able to discover what they can do or